Embodiments of the inventive concept relate generally to electronic memory technologies. More particularly, embodiments of the inventive concept relate to semiconductor memory devices and methods of performing read and verification operations in the semiconductor memory devices.
Recent years have been marked by a continuing increase in the demand for semiconductor memory devices. Along with this demand, there has also been a demand for improved performance and increased storage capacity of the semiconductor memory devices.
Two of the primary ways of improving the performance and storage capacity of semiconductor memory devices are increasing their operating speeds, and increasing their integration densities. Increasing these characteristics, however, can require improvements in the precision of their operations because devices that are faster and smaller tend to be more sensitive to minor variations in operating conditions such as timing, voltages, and so on. As a result, new techniques are continually required to ensure the reliability of next generation semiconductor memory devices.